Monday, January 4, 2010

Penny is blessed.

Sunday was one of the most beautiful days of my life. In the LDS Church, we bless our babies in infancy. It is an opportunity to give the child blessings and advice with love and inspiration. The baby is typically blessed in Church by the father and is assisted by family and friends. So Sunday we blessed little Penny and we were surrounded by dear family and friends. It was one of those days where I felt a tremendous amount of love from all around, especially Above.

I have kind of weird ideas about things sometimes, and for some reason I wanted to bless all my children at home. I felt like a baby blessing was a really intimate and special moment, and I felt awkward sharing that with so many people. So Mae was blessed at home and it was lovely. But after many conversations and considerations, we decided that we really should bless Penny at church. I'm so glad we did.

I also didn't understand why you would spend $$$$ on a dress or outfit for a blessing that they'd wear for one hour. Mae was blessed in a dress I found for $20, and I really didn't like it very much, but it was inexpensive so it worked (I had the same ideas about my wedding dress).

Awhile ago my mom let me borrow a beautiful tatted bonnet she wore as a baby. I've loved it immediately, and I really wanted my girls to wear it. Mae never wore it, but I was determined to have Penny wear it. I really wanted her to wear it when she was blessed, but I could never find an outfit that fit the style or color of the bonnet. I figured if I really wanted Penny to wear it, I'd have to make something. But I'm not really a seamstress, so I knew it would be a struggle.

My mom stepped in and offered to help me make a blessing dress. So we searched high and low for a pattern and fabric that we liked and would work. My mom was so patient with me being wishy-washy and indecisive. In the end, we found lovely dotted swiss fabric and a pattern that would work. My mom worked hard all week to sew Penny her lovely blessing dress. We embleshed it with lace from her wedding dress. We found the shoes that matched the bonnet that, as it turns out, were the shoes I was blessed in. And she had the bonnet. Her outfit was extremely lovely and very sentimental and special.

Here my mom and I are getting Penny dressed and ready for her special day:





With Jayson before the blessing:

We had lots of family in town--Jayson's parents came from Portland, his sisters from Provo, and his brother and his family from Lehi. Also, my parents came from Provo, my sister and her family from Long Beach California, my brother and his family from Ruby Valley Nevada, and my other brother and his family from Heber. We hosted them at our house for a breakfast before church. It was a pretty full house.


The blessing was beautiful. It's an incredible thing to see your infant taken in the arms of people who love her, and to hear the individualized and special blessings given to your sweet child. I feel, and I'm sure others do too, that it's a moment when you feel like you get a glimpse into the future of your child. You can see more closely who they will become.

Because of the nature of the blessing, I don't feel like I should share much of what was said. But Jayson did talk a little bit about her name--Penelope Kay and since I haven't shared why we named her that, I feel like I can now. Kay is Jayson's mother's middle name. We love and admire her tremendously, and hope that Penny will learn from her humility, kindess and thoughtfulness. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey and stays faithful to him (and fights off 108 suitors) for 20 years while he is off fighting the Trojan War. We hope she will develope the same fidelity.

After the blessing, we came back to the house and Penny had a photoshoot with her Pappa (J's dad). She was in an extremely good mood and Pappa took incredible pictures.





Here are the shoes (I love the peep toes!). Also, you can see some of the lace from my mom's wedding dress on the left.










Of course, Mae had to get in on the action. She really is a sweet older sister and she loves Penny.




and lastly, one of my favorite picture of the day...my girls.

21 comments:

buttercup said...

beautiful photos. beautiful daughters. Penny IS blessed to be in such an amazing family. Her blessing was beautiful. I LOVED that bonnet too by the way. I was completely taken by it when I saw her on Sunday.

janae said...

I'm so sappy and sentimental about ancestral type stuff, so the fact that she wore your mom's bonnet, your booties, and a dress made by her grandma absolutely bowls me over. I love it! The photoshoot is amazing - she is so smiley! I love it. Happy day for you!

Elizabeth said...

I love love LOVE the dress and bonnet and shoes. We were kind of like you -- nothing really special for the boys' blessing day. But Mia's dress was given to her by my great aunt and she had lovely little shoes and a bonnet too (which she didn't end up wearing...she had a bow).

But since you were talking about the blessing I just wanted to tell you how beautiful I thought it was. It was so touching, and I thought Jayson's emotion was so special, too. It was all lovely.

Elizabeth said...

Oh, and I love that last photo of the girls together too. I haven't been able to capture a really great shot of all of my kids together yet, but I'm hoping I can get one.

That Girl said...

Hot dang, woman. Gorgeous pictures. Absolutely adore the bonnet. Love the big breakfast, the family, and for naming her after Greek mythology.

I love you. Have I told you that lately?

LisaJ said...

Her outfit was beautiful!! I have the same thoughts as you do about the clothes.

Caleb was blessed in a suit made from my Dad's old suit (he died before Caleb was born). My mother made my girls' dresses, and Mason will be blessed in a suit made from Dave's old mission suit. I think it makes the day that much more special!

SNSsoup said...

Beautiful pictures Heidi! You look gorgeous and Penny is a doll! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that bonnet, particularly the fact that it was your mothers. Mae's a doll too- I LOVE her, wish she were mine.

Sharalea said...

Gorgeous, all of it! Thanks for sharing your special day--love all the sweetly sentimental details! PERFECT!

Bridget said...

SOOOOO beautiful. I love it all, including that rug in your living room :) I wish I had been there. Looking forward to gymnastics!

austinamasandra said...

ADORABLE!!!!! Love the history behingd the cute outfit (especially the hat and the lace from your mom's wedding dress). You're girls are so PRECIOUS. CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!!!!

Stephanie said...

Those pictures made me want to give your mom a hug.

Baby blessings are so awesome, and I'm so glad it was a great day for your family.

And Penny's blessing outfit is one of the most adorable ensembles I've seen. She looks divine.

Garner Family said...

Both of your girls are beautiful and Mae is so sweet. I really enjoyed reading this post. I love Penny's outfit. It is beautiful but I love it even more knowing the meaning behind it. Thanks for sharing!

Ruth said...

What a doll! Love you!

darcie said...

I love the pictures of your girls! They are both so adorable. Penny's dress is beautiful!

I love reading your blog and all your thoughts, you are so eloquent in writing about your feelings. I love baby blessings and will admit that I sometimes get choked up by blessings of babies that I don't even know. It sounds like it was a beautiful day!

P.S. Had to add that great minds think alike because we have the same rug, only smaller. I love your house!

Jessi said...

Such sweet pictures! Your girls are just so cute!! I LOVE the dress and bonnet and shoes! Adorable!!

Freedom Warrior said...

Thanks again for letting us be a part of this special occasion. Our grandchildren mean so much to us and this new one has such a sweet spirit. I was honored to be able to photograph her. We love you guys and can't wait to see you again. Papa.

Denise said...

What an amazing day (and baby!). She looked beautiful. Penny is blessed in so many ways, but especially because she has you both as parents.

k e n d r a said...

ahhh those girls are so beautiful! the dress is amazing and i love all of the special details. was the bonnet taken off the doll? man, i'm just glad those dolls aren't covered in plastic anymore, that was freaky.

but back to the blessing....i'm so glad it was such a special day, i wish we could have been there.

Brandi, Dan, L and B said...

Your mom is a great seamstress. Such a beautiful dress. I wish we could have been there when she was blessed. She is so cute and so is Mae. I contemplated having someone make Blairs blessing dress out of my wedding dress. In the end though I just couldn't cut up my dress. I hope that Blair one day likes to play dress up in it. Maybe if we have another girl I will change my mind.

Lisa S said...

This post was very nice and the photos are beautiful! Apparently I didn't tighten the diaper on my oldest when she was blessed because during it, she made a mess of hubby's shirt cuff. aw well. congratulations.

Meg Ruth said...

So so cute! I love your family!